Ahsoka Trilogy Book Three: Forgiven

Chapter 16

Meraki woke up in a white bed in a white room that had medical equipment surrounding every other bed in the room. She look to her left seeing Luke look straight back at her.

"I sense your frustration." She said weekly.

"What was that thing?" He asked looking at her.

"A force projection." She responded trying to sit up but it was no use, she was too weak.

"How could it be there?" Luke asked standing up and walking to the bed.

"Think about it, we were in a sacred place that had the force everywhere." Meraki looked at him with her exhausted, green eyes.

"He feeds off the force in a certain area." Luke sat down next to her.

"And depending how strong the person is with the force, he can feed off of it." Meraki finished.

"That makes sense. How can we defeated it?" He asked, Meraki shook her head.

"It can't be injured if it's just a projection, the thing on the other end can move. Maybe that's why I could sense him in two multiple areas at once." Meraki said rubbing her shoulder.

"That also makes sense." Luke said standing up.

"So he must have been getting the information out of the library or other parts of the temple when you were fighting the projection of me." Luke started pacing.

"That wasn't you, it was a Sith. His eyes were glowing, his hair was long and he had a large scar over his eye." Meraki protested.

"It was me, if I had turned to the dark side. It was twisting my face to look like how my father's did." Luke said folding his arms.

"That's horrifying." Meraki said.

"Not as horrifying as how many blades you got stuck in you." He said taking her arm and examining where the blade had gone in.

"I feel that it was a trap." Meraki breathed slowly.

"To kill you?" He asked putting her arm down.

"No to kill you." Meraki forced herself to sit up despite the searing pain in her shoulder.

"I don't understand." Luke sat down on the bed.

"The first night when our speeder was shot down I felt someone nearby but not all the way there. I sensed a familiar presence when we met the Zabrak, he wasn't exactly there." She said looking into his blue eyes.

"I did not feel any of that, only you did." Luke protested, Meraki shook her head.

"The attacker knew we'd be coming to the temple sometime or another so he waited. The first attempt there with the dagger was to lure you over. The next attempt with the elevator, you should have been with me. The projection was meant for you, you were supposed to fight yourself." Meraki explained.

"She makes a good point Luke, their attacks on her were meant for you." Ahsoka said. Her pale orange skin was showing slightly under the gown they made her wear.

"If she is right then why is she the one who lost blood and not me?" Luke asked looking at Meraki for answers.

"Because she sensed it." Ahsoka said. Luke turned around to look at Meraki a sense of terror in his eyes.

"So because of my inability to sense him, she got hurt?" He asked Meraki who shook her head.

"His techniques can not be sensed by those who are not trained to sense them." Meraki said looking at him, he nodded.

"What are we going to do about him, this attacker?" Ahsoka asked.

"We have to find a way to find a way to maneuver his mind tricks and stop him from selling the information." Luke said standing up.

"I agree." Meraki said.

"You are not doing anything for a while until you're wounds start healing. The one in your shoulder is really deep, give it the rest of the day before you do anything." Luke said checking the bandages.

"I can manage, Luke." Meraki said looking at him.

"You're not going to hurt yourself more by trying to be tough. Ahsoka and I will go tonight and I want you here meditating okay?" He said intently looking into her eyes.

"Yes of course." Meraki nodded and watched Luke leave the room.

"He's very caring." Ahsoka said sitting down on the bed.

"He just wants to make sure I can be the best I can." Meraki answered lying down.

"It's more than that, I sense some attachment." Ahsoka said sitting on the bed.

"I don't feel it." Meraki smiled.

"Just wait." Ahsoka smiled.

"When was the first time you realized you had feelings for dad?" Meraki asked looking at her mother.

"It was the second time we ran into each other at a meeting between some of the separatist and republic senators on Mandalor. I saved him from bring killed twice, one from Douku's droids and the other from a terrorist group called Death Watch. It was when we escaped and we get into space did I realize how much he meant to me." She smiled folding her hands together.

"Why space, what happened there?" Meraki asked.

"I told him that we could work things out on Coruscant, but he responded saying we couldn't. We both knew what each other meant at the time. He got into the escape pod, said he would see me again and left," Ahsoka said still looking down, "and he did."

"You betrayed the jedi code, about not forming attachments." Meraki stated.

"We were not attached. I felt a strong amount of compassion for him, something that is vital for a jedi, therefore I did not betray the very code that bound me together." She laughed looking up at Meraki.

"You still left the order." Meraki had so many questions that her dad could never answer as the woman in the stories.

"Indeed I did." Ahsoka laughed.

"What did you do after?" Meraki's mind was racing.

"I searched the galaxy for your father," She smiled and stood up, "that's enough for today, you need to go to sleep and regain your strength."

"Yes mom." Meraki smiled seeing the wide smile that formed on Ahsoka's face.

"Sweet dreams child." She left Meraki's sight lines as she started to drift off to sleep.